Babatunde Rahim, known professionally as Lyta, is a Nigerian singer. He signed a record deal with

YBNL Nation Yahoo Boy No Laptop Nation, popularly known as YBNL Nation or simply YBNL, is an independent record label founded by Olamide in 2012. History On 19 February 2020, YBNL Nation signed a distribution, and publishing deal with Empire Distribution. ...

in 2018 but left the label in May 2019 after having a disagreement with the label owner

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. Widely regarded as one of the biggest and most influential artists in Africa, he has been instrumental to the launching of the careers ...

. He released the 5-track debut EP ''Id'' in 2019.

Early life and career

A native of

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the internation ...

, Lyta grew up in

Ajegunle Ajegunle, popularly known as "AJ City" or simply "AJ", is a neighbourhood located in the heart of Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located in the Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government area of Lagos. Ajegunle in the Yoruba language means "A plac ...

and was a member of Ile Kewu, a music group at his local mosque. His record deal with

was made public on 3 February 2018. In 2019, Lyta confirmed that he did not have any written contracts with

. Lyta's breakthrough single with YBNL Nation, "Time", features vocals by

and was released on 14 February 2018. In 2019, Lyta left YBNL Nation due to contractual and personal issues. After exiting YBNL, he signed with Doro Musik Gang and released the Killer Tunes-produced track "Monalisa" on 12 July 2019. The visuals for "Monalisa", which was directed by Director K, amassed over 500,000 views within a month after its release. A few weeks after the release of "Monalisa",

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widel ...

reached out to Lyta about recording an official remix with him. Following their agreement, Davido and Lyta flew to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

for the remix and video shoot. The remix of "Monalisa" was released on 30 August 2019. Elias Light of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine described the song as a "handsome contradiction, with fierce expressions of yearning". The accompanying music video for the remix was directed by Director K. Lyta gained exposure following his collaboration with Davido on the remix. Lyta released the Afrobeat track "Worry" on 6 December 2019; it was produced by Killer Tunes. The visuals for "Worry" was shot and directed by Simplicity Visual Studios in London.

YBNL exit

Reports about Lyta's exit from YBNL surfaced after Olamide unfollowed him on Instagram. In May 2019, Lyta confirmed his exit from YNBL Nation on

Naijaloaded Naijaloaded is a Nigerian music website founded by Makinde Azeez in 2009. It was nominated for the 2017 and 2018 City People Entertainment Awards City People Entertainment Awards are an annual accolade presented by ''City People Magazine'' t ...

TV. He said although he was paid between 50,000 and 80,000 for shows, he never had a written contract with the label. Olamide issued a statement to ''Guardian Life'', saying YBNL has a promotion calendar that Lyta refused to follow.

New record label

In 2020, Lyta was signed to Marlian Records owned by

Naira Marley Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer and song writer. He is known as the president of his controversial fan base, "Marlians". Education At the age of 11, he moved to Pec ...

. He also released his first single under the label titled "Hold me Down(Omo Gidi)". The video to "Hold Me Down", which was inspired by Kpop Korean boy band GOT7 and

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

, was directed by TG Omori. The video is an exact replica of GOT7's "Just Right" music video. However, Lyta did not ask for permission and K-pop fans were furious about the exact copy of the video. Lyta said, "I am not signed with Marlian records. Naira Marley is just showing me love."

Discography

EPs

* ''Id'' (2019)

Singles

* '' Time '' (2018) * '' Self made '' (2018) * '' Worry '' (2019) * '' Monalisa '' (2018) * '' Mama '' (2020) *'' Hold me down '' (2020) *Everybody (2020) *Ramadan (2020) *Birthday Wish (2020) *Hold Me Down (Omo Gidi) (2020) *Are You Sure (2021) ;As lead artist ;As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

{{Authority control Living people Nigerian male singer-songwriters Nigerian child singers Nigerian male pop singers English-language singers from Nigeria Yoruba-language singers Musicians from Lagos 21st-century Nigerian male singers Year of birth missing (living people)